The Photo
On the heels of the episode Friends Forever, Anyssa Harper Forson and her husband, Bryan Forson explain to the oldest of their Quads, Sam and Courtney Sue, about her early life with the Lucases. It was a quiet afternoon, as the late afternoon sun was shining through the front window of the Forson townhouse. Anyssa looked at the picture on the fireplace mantel. It was the picture of Susie and Anyssa when they were girls and when they were grown up. Anyssa's eyes filled with tears when she looked at it. Bryan put his arm around his wife. "Hey, what's got you crying, honey?" Bryan asked in concern. "Isn't that a lovely picture?" Anyssa asked, wiping tears from her eyes. "Yes, it is," Bryan agreed, "you two looked so adorable." "Susie, the adopted Oklahoman," Anyssa smiled, "and me, the transplant from Chicago's North side. "That is amazing how Sam and Lahoma could find that," Bryan said, "and to splice those two pictures together the way they did. "Yeah, it is," Anyssa agreed, "Sam said that he scanned both pictures together. Oh, how the memories come to mind. I so miss that old house." "I know you do, darling," Bryan said. "Susie told me that she got one too," Anyssa said, "I also asked Sam and Lahoma to send Sheila a picture of us. I think she and Allen would like that." "I am sure they will," Bryan said, "I talked to Dylan, and he told me that he sent a family photo of him, Adam, Derek and Ashley to Sam and Lahoma. They really are a part of this family." Anyssa agreed, "Yeah, Lahoma fell in love with the twins," she said, "she had Dylan, Adam and the twins go to see them. They had an excellent time. Dylan told me that Lahoma had the twins dress in rodeo outfits." Bryan laughed, "Oh my, how did Ashley react?" Anyssa laughed along with Bryan, "You know Ashley," she said, "she was adamant. Lahoma relented and allowed Ashley to dress in jeans." "That picture has stories," Bryan said. "You know, I think Sam and Courtney Sue would love to see the photo," Anyssa said, "I know they've been wanting to ask, but they wanted to wait." "Sounds good to me," Bryan said, "I'll have Martina go and get them." A minute later, Martina Velasquez, the family's housekeeper, came into the living room. "Martina," Bryan said, "can you go bring Sammy and Courtney Sue to the living room please?" "Yes, sir," Martina nodded, and hustled upstairs. Sam and Courtney Sue were busy playing in Sam's room. Sam was playing with his doll, Lollie, dressing her in some new clothes he got for Christmas, while Courtney Sue was reading one of her new Christmas books. She was reading an abridged version of Gulliver's Travels. Courtney Sue and Sam were the smartest of the four, and when they weren't playing with their toys, they were either reading their extensive collections of books, or creating seat work for themselves, to keep themselves sharp for school. Ellie and Jolie were playing in their bedroom, (the girls shared a bedroom, while Sam had his own room) Jolie was playing with her football game on her new Wii that she got for Christmas, and Ellie was playing with her teddy bear. Martina got to the door of Sam's room, she knocked on the door, and pushed it open slightly to see the oldest of the quads. "Sammy, Courtney Sue," Martina said kindly, "your mommy and daddy want you downstairs. "OK, Martina," Sam said. Courtney Sue nodded and put her book down. Hand in hand, Sam and Courtney Sue went downstairs and walked into the living room. Anyssa and Bryan smiled as they came in. "Hi Mommy, hi Daddy," Sam said. Courtney Sue smiled. Sam had brought Lollie with him. "Hi kids," Anyssa smiled. "Mommy wanted to show you a new picture that Grandma and Grandpa Lucas sent." Courtney Sue was entranced, her blue eyes were sparking, "Is that you, Mommy?" she asked. "You and Aunt Susie?" Anyssa smiled, "Yes, that was Mommy and Aunt Susie, when we were just about your age," she said, "that was taken at the old house in Oklahoma City." "You lived with Grampa Sam?" Sam asked, his eyes wide. "Yes, I did, honey," Anyssa said. "Why did you live there, Mommy?" Courtney Sue asked. "Well," Anyssa said, "when I was five years old, your Grandmother and Grandfather Rayburn were killed in a car accident. Your Great Aunt Velda couldn't raise me, as she was living here in Boston at the time. So, my parents made a promise to Grandma and Grandpa Lucas, that they would take care of me if something happened." "Wow," Courtney Sue said, "you mean you lived with them?" "Yes, sweetheart," Anyssa laughed, "here's another picture of Mommy and Aunt Susie. Look at what we are wearing." Sam and Courtney Sue were stunned. "Those are cute outfits, Mommy," Sam said admiringly, "you and Aunt Susie wore those?" "I swear, everytime we went to a rodeo, your Grandma and Grandpa Lucas would want us to wear those atrocious outfits," Anyssa laughed, "anyway, your Grandma Lucas thought we looked cute." "You and Susie both did," Bryan smiled at his wife, "and you looked great." "Bryan Forson!" Anyssa laughed harder, "Do you really think any judge and jury in this commonwealth would think I would look one bit cute in THAT outfit?! That would never even stand up in the Supreme Court!" Sam and Courtney Sue giggled at their parents banter, even though they did not understand one word of it. Their bond was as evident as Anyssa and Susie's had been at their age. "Unca Dylan said that when he an' Unca Adam took Derek and Ashley down there," Sam said, "Granma and Grampa had them dress in rodeo outfits too." Anyssa smiled, "Yes, they did, Sammy," she said, "Ashley modified it by dressing in cowgirl jeans." Courtney Sue said, "Derek looked cute in his picture," smiling at the thought of her city bred cousin dressing in a cowboy outfit. "He showed it to me, and then Granpa sent us a picture of Derek." Bryan agreed with his daughter, "He looked handsome," he said. On two walls of the Forson's spacious living room, was pictures of everyone. One whole wall had the large family portrait which had been taken when Michael and Hannah were alive. The other wall had pictures of the respective branches of the family. Anyssa, Bryan, the quads and Aunt Velda were in one; Dylan, Adam and the twins were another picture; Wendy, Dylan, Adam, Eric, Barry, Mark Wilson and Rosemary were yet another branch; Mark, Rosemary and A.J. were another picture; Craig, Maggie, Sharmaine, Elspeth, and Maranda were yet another picture; Patricia, Roger and Caitlyn were in yet another picture; Sheila, Allen and Catherine were another picture, as was a picture of Sheila, Dylan and Roger; Samantha, Steven, Audra and Shawn were one picture; while June and her coterie of men were another. Also arranged on the wall were the school pictures of all the kids. "What was it like in Oklahoma City, Mommy?" Courtney Sue asked, "Were you well liked?" "I was indeed, sweetie. When I got there, your Aunt Susie took me all over the neighborhood and introduced me around to her friends," Anyssa smiled, thinking about the memories, "she was so pleased to show me off." Sam smiled, "Grandma and Grandpa Lucas had a lovely old house, didn't they, Mommy?" he asked. Anyssa smiled at her son, "That they did, honey," she said, "the left side of the picture was taken in Susie's old bedroom when we were playing with our dolls." Sam looked at the picture. "Those were pretty dolls, Mommy," Sam said, him being a regular connoisseur of dolls, "you and Aunt Susie were playing Mommy?" Anyssa looked at the doll she had been playing with in the picture, her eyes moistened, "I truly loved that doll," she said wistfully, "I got that doll for Christmas from Grandma Lucas. That doll was very popular back in the day, and I loved her as much as you love Lollie. In fact, Sammy, I remember seeing that doll on eBay, and I decided to see about getting that for us. For me, because of the cherished memories I have of playing with her, and for you, because I know you love dolls." Sam grinned at his mother. Anyssa smiled back, her son was quite the charmer, a trait he had picked up from both her and Bryan. "What happened to Grandma and Grandpa Lucas' old house?" Courtney Sue asked. "Sadly, it was destroyed in 1999," Anyssa said, "Aunt Susie wrote me and told me about it when I was still at Plaisance Academy. She shared more about it with me when we were at school at Northwestern. A tornado went through Oklahoma City, and the house was destroyed." "That is sad, Mommy," Sam said, hugging Lollie close. "Yes it was, however, you all have seen Grandma and Grandpa's new house," Anyssa said, "it's a beautiful new house. Remember when we went there two years ago, when you were three? Susie and Ellen were there too." Sam and Courtney Sue nodded enthusiastically. They remembered it well. When the quads were three years old, the whole family went down to Oklahoma City to visit Sam and Lahoma. Allen, Sheila and Catherine, herself a three year old, accompanied them. Ellen, Patrick and Susannah had also come from Somerset, to just visit and spend time together as a family. Despite Anyssa's adoption as a Harper, she was always still a member of the Lucas family. A fact that Lahoma had made clear to her second daughter. "We know you were adopted," Lahoma had said, "but that doesn't change anything to us. In our hearts, you are as much of a Lucas as Susie is." "I appreciate that, Lahoma," Anyssa smiled, her eyes filling with tears, "I am glad you and Sam are still a large part of my life, and always will be." "I want to see my grandbabies grow up too," Lahoma said, "I was so pleased when you had your quads, and Sheila had her child." In Lahoma's mind, Anyssa, Susie and Sheila were all sisters. "The picture on the right is more current, isn't it, Mommy?" Courtney Sue asked. "Yes, it was not that long ago, when Aunt Susie made a visit here," Anyssa said. "It was when your Uncle Aaron and Aunt Marta were married. Your Aunt Susie had taken a selfie of us at the reception and she posted it." "I just hope I don't have to worry about selfies," Courtney Sue said. "I don't think you have anything to worry about on that one, sweetie," Bryan said, "but why do you say that?" "You know Adriana Dawson, a girl I know in school?" Courtney Sue asked. "Yeah, I know her," Sam said, "I don't much like her." "Me neither," Courtney Sue said. "I remember her," Anyssa said. "Her mother was a pompous woman, who drove me crazy at your open house." "Well, her mommy bought her an iphone," Courtney Sue continued, "and she was bragging about it all over school! She would be taking selfies all over the place! I got so mad at her." "I didn't blame you there, sis," Sam said, hugging his sister, "she was acting like she owned the school!" "Isn't five a bit young to have an iphone, Mommy?" Courtney Sue asked. "I think so, baby," Anyssa said. "Good," Courtney Sue said, "'cause, I don't want an iphone, at least not until I am a bit older." "Very wise idea, honey," Anyssa said, "but you might need to have one in case of an emergency." "Yeah," Courtney Sue said good-naturedly, "I can concede that." "Well, you kids can go back upstairs and play," Bryan said, "Mommy and I are gonna talk a while." "OK," Sam said, picking up Lollie. "Thanks for telling us about you and Aunt Susie, Mommy." "You're welcome, angel," Anyssa smiled at her son. "See ya, Mommy," Courtney Sue smiled, "I'm gonna go and play tea party with Sammy." Sam and Courtney Sue walked out hand in hand. Anyssa and Bryan smiled. "Of all four of them, Sammy and Courtney Sue truly have the biggest and strongest bond," Anyssa said. "That they do, Anyssa," Bryan said, "They really do have one another's backs." "They were so rapt in hearing my story," Anyssa smiled. "They really were entranced with it," Bryan said. "Yes, they were," Anyssa said, "I could see Sam's eyes widen, and so did Courtney's. I think it is the same way Susie and I were like when we were kids. Sam and Courtney Sue are so close and they instantly bonded like we did." "You mean all of that story was true?" Bryan grinned. "Every word of it was true," Anyssa smiled, "but I do need to make a call. I talked with Mrs. Collins, and she said dinner will be ready at seven." "OK," Bryan grinned, "I bet I know who you are going to call." "You said it," Anyssa smiled impishly, "and you know me all too well. Bryan waved and went upstairs to play with Sam and Courtney Sue. As it turned out, they were playing tea party with their favorite dolls and animals, and it wasn't odd at all that Bryan Forson, an able and well-renowned prosecuting attorney, would sit at a small table with his two oldest children and sip pretend tea with them. Anyssa picked up her cell phone. She actually made three calls that evening. The first one was to her adopted mother, Michelle Harper. The second one was to her other mother, Lahoma Lucas, the woman who raised her during her childhood. The third one was to Susie. She settled herself on the couch, and began to chat with her sister. Her best friend. Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Anyssa and Susannah